Background: A new silver-based dressing has been designed to reduce surgical sited infections. Patients and Methods: A prospective multicenter observational study was conducted from January 2020 to October 2021. Patients with and without silver-based dressing after surgical incision were observed and their data analyzed. The study aimed to assess the incidence of incisional surgical site infection and primary healing after general surgery procedures. Results: Overall, 218 patients with silver-based (n = 109) and conventional silver-free dressing (n = 109) were analyzed. Surgical site infection (SSI) and primary incision healing were reported in 10 (9.2%) versus 21 (19.3%) (p = 0.037) and in 95 (87.2%) versus 86 (78.9%) (p = 0.107) patients treated with and without silver-based dressing, respectively. Conclusions: Silver-based dressing demonstrated a lower incidence of incisional SSI and improved primary healing in comparison with patients in whom conventional non-silver-based dressing has been used.
Keywords: primary wound healing; silver ions; silver-based dressing; sol-gel; surgical site infection.